ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Alpharetta officials have approved new redevelopment and rehabilitation plans at the site of the Bailey Johnson school, a historic facility that served Black North Fulton students through the 1960s.
At its Feb. 26 meeting, the City Council approved a change in zoning conditions to allow for the demolition and reconstruction of the school’s historic gymnasium. Developers will reconstruct the facility with a “similar size and design.”
Plans also call for a three-story office building to the west of the school and a five-level parking deck in the northwest corner of the site. The three buildings that make up the Bailey Johnson school will be rehabilitated and designated as a historic property.
Opened in 1950 as the Alpharetta Colored School, the Bailey Johnson school on Kimball Bridge Road served Black students in first through 12th grade until the desegregation of North Fulton County schools in 1967. The school enrolled roughly 100 students from North Fulton to Dunwoody.
It was renamed in 1953 after George Bailey, a blacksmith in Alpharetta who donated the land, and Warren Johnson, an advocate of Black education who was formerly enslaved.
Fulton County Schools previously owned the site and primarily used it as a storage facility. Project developer The Garren purchased the property for $6 million in 2022.
The City Council approved site plans for the property in 2021, which called for a 120,000-square-foot office building, parking deck and an adaptive reuse of the school and gymnasium.
At the Feb. 26 meeting, developers said the gymnasium has foundation issues that would require additional bracing for the building to meet code requirements, and there is a hole in the roof that has caused severe water damage.
Construction is set to roll out in two phases. Developers will first rehabilitate the school, build…
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